Apple defeats customers in data privacy lawsuit

Claims from consumers that Apple had violated its privacy policy have been dismissed from court due to a lack of evidence.

Four plaintiffs said that Apple devices were transmitting user data to third parties, who were then able to collect and analyse it without the user's knowledge.

The case related to allegations in 2011 that the iPhone's iOS had been designed specifically to track user's locations, in direct contradiction of Apple's privacy policy.

The plaintiffs claimed that such practice resulted in a loss of storage space on their iPhones, and argued that Apple had charged too much money for the devices.

The case was dismissed on Monday by US District Judge Lucy H. Koh, saying that the plaintiffs had failed to show that they had suffered any harm or relied on company misrepresentations.

"Plaintiffs must be able to provide some evidence that they saw one or more of Apple's alleged misrepresentations, that they actually relied on those misrepresentations, and that they were harmed thereby," Koh said at the ruling according to Reuters.

The case is one of 19 related lawsuits overseen by Koh, all involving Apple and consumer privacy.

In a report posted to its website at the time, Apple said: "We believe that our customers have a right to understand how their personal information is handled, and we consider it our responsibility to provide them with the best privacy protections available."